


Paralysed

by duel_stars



Series: Bat Fam: Sadness, Madness and Everything In-between [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bat Brothers, Bat Family, Character Death, Gen, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Okay Not Really, You're Welcome, im sorry, no happy ending, song prompt, whole lotta angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 13:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15841821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duel_stars/pseuds/duel_stars
Summary: Tim stood motionless. Because it was Tim in this moment, not Red Robin.After Steph, Bart, Kon. He never would've thought Dick would be his breaking point. Then again, you can never anticipate death as a vigilante.





	1. Paralysed

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the song Paralysed by NF, and this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eWxrRnqZ2g) edit, so I suggest listening to/watching it. 
> 
> It kinda switches between PoVs (it's mainly Tim's but the others too), so I hope it's not too confusing. 
> 
> In this fic all the bat bros are kinda close, because Dick wanted all his little bros to love each other (it's Dick Grayson, what'd you expect.)
> 
> Sorry if the characters don't seem like themselves, I tried to write how I thought they'd react in this sort of situation and I'm still getting used to writing the Bat Family. :)
> 
> Enjoy! (As much as that's possible.)
> 
> I don't own the characters.

Tim stood motionless. Because it was Tim in this moment, not Red Robin. 

After Steph, Bart, _Kon_. He never would've thought _Dick_ would be his breaking point. Then again, you can never anticipate death as a vigilante.

He felt his knees give out beneath him, landing hard on the wet concrete of Gotham's backstreets. This city, taking things she never should've taken, never should've been _able_ to take.

Why isn't he _moving_?

Dick's body is contorted, limbs askew in positions that shouldn't be possible. There's no blood. Just the sickening crack and thud of his body hitting the ground, resounding in Tim's ears. He almost watches himself peel the domino mask off Dick's slack features.

Tim takes a shuddering breath as he chokes back a sob. A tear rolls down his face.

His blue eyes stare at the sky, unseeing. Black hair, clumped and matted with rain and mud sticks to his face.

He wasn't supposed to fall. His grapple hook wasn't supposed to jam. It's just patrol. He wasn't supposed to _die_.

***

Minutes, maybe hours later a pair of hands pulls Tim off Dick's body and strong arms wrap around him. The scent of cigarettes and leather fills his nose and he vaguely registers Jason talking to Bruce, a slight tremor in his voice.

"T- Tim? Timbo?" Jason asks. A flash of recognition flickers through Tim's eyes at the nickname, but soon return to a dull stupor.

Jason doesn't push him, instead bundling the younger boy onto the back of his bike as they follow Bruce home.

***

Jason lifts an unconscious Tim off the bike, gently laying him in the gurney next to Dick.

He hates this. There wasn't even anyone left to beat within inches of their life. He let out an anguished yell, punching the wall. Pain flared up in his hand. His eyes flickered over to Tim, who was curled in on himself, whimpering.

He looks to Bruce, sat at the Bat-computer, cowl off, head in his hands. 

Jason puts on his helmet to hide the tear tracks already forming on his face and roars out of the cave on his bike.

***

There was a knock on his door. Alfred opened it, to find his surrogate son, the deepest sorrow in his eyes and tears falling down his cheeks.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, worry filling his voice and fear filling his heart.

"He-," Bruce's voice cracked, "Dick- He- He's dead, Alf," the man finally breaking. Alfred felt tears welling in his eyes, stepping forward, and shakily wrapping his arms around him, a father and son mourning a son and grandson.

***

Tim wakes alone, jerked out of sleep from the repeating scene of Dick's body hitting concrete. He glances at the clock. 5:39am flashes at him in red. Four hours passed.

He looks around the med bay, his gaze falling on the body in the cot next to him. He freezes. His chest constricts, a lump of lead forming in his stomach.

He wants to cry, scream, sob, hit something. _Feel something._ But his body decides not to, just staring blankly at his older brother.

Minutes pass and Tim stares, willing Dick to start breathing again, to get up like nothing was wrong, chatter away in that insufferable but endearing way of his.

 

 

He stays still. 

***

Damian wakes up to silence. He gets up and walks downstairs to the kitchen, expecting Pennyworth to be bustling about making breakfast. The kitchen is empty, every plate and utensil not an inch out of place. He isn't stunned, Damian is never _stunned_ , but Damian walks out of the kitchen feeling a little nonplussed. It was past 6am, and Pennyworth was always up by then, let alone the majority of the household.

He treads upstairs to Grayson's room, finding it empty. He frowns. Drake's room is empty too, as is Todd's, not that he expected him to be there.

He finds his hand hovering unsurely over Father's bedroom door, before shaking away his gut feeling and knocking twice. No response. Damian pushes the door open carefully, before stopping short.

Father is curled up, asleep. Tear tracks are visible on his skin, and he's loosely clutching a photo album.

Damian staggers backward a step, pulling the door shut. _Father, crying, empty house, no Pennyworth._

_Someone was hurt. Bad._

Damian didn’t think about who, refused to think of what or how. His feet carried him to the office, fingers turning the clock hands.

Almost stumbling out of the lift he ran to the med bay, Grayson’s name on his tongue.

 ***

Tim heard the elevator slide open and turned to see Damian running in his direction.

Tim opened his mouth to warn him but-

“He’s dead,” it came out as barely a whisper. Damian's breath hitched and a small sob came out of his mouth, falling onto Dick's body. His arms desperately clutched around the older man and sobbed into his neck. 

Tim's heart constricted with the amount of pain the boy was radiating, and he felt tears rolling down his cheeks for the nth time that day. Dick was a mentor to Damian when Robin was in training, a partner when Robin reappeared, a brother when Bruce returned, a father while Bruce was gone.

He pushed himself off the bed and gently pulled Damian off Dick's body. Drawing him into his arms and stroking his hair, as the pair sank to the cold floor of the Batcave. Damian's sobs racked his body, gasping in heaving breaths as Tim cried silently, tears soaking through his younger brother's shirt.


	2. Heartbreak

Bruce's heart broke that day, all those many cracks finally giving in.

 

Not the day his parent's were murdered in front of him, their blood spattering his hands and face.

Not the day he watched a small boy have his family murdered in front of him, knowing that pain himself.

Not the day his son left and created a life for himself.

Not the day he cradled his second son's burnt, beaten and lifeless body in his arms.

Not the day his eldest came to him, tears running down his face, the love of his life having been evaporated into thin air.

Not the day he adopted his third son, the boy still grieving his dead parents.

Not the day he found his second son was the Arkham Knight.

Not the day his third son almost gave up.

Not the day he betrayed his family for the sake of justice, hiding away for almost a year.

Not the day his youngest son died.

 

The day all his sons were in the same room. Jason regretfully taking his place as the eldest, tear tracks still visible on his face. Tim still vaguely in a comatose state from that night, three days ago. Damian, finally allowing himself to be the child that he was, showing his tears and love for his eldest brother to the world.

 

And Dick.

Lying peacefully in that cursed deathbed two metres away from him.

 

 

 

And that night he cried into the arms of his father-figure, for the son he loves, and regretting he didn't tell him that more.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. Constructive criticism is appreciated. :)


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